Three years of love, friendships, baseball, sunshine, kids, Jesus, and the week I look forward to most every year sprouted from a relatively spontaneous decision to go to the Dominican Republic in 2014. After joining The Inn and looking for more ways to get involved, I finally decided to step out and sign up for the trip, only kinda knowing two other people in the 60 person group. At the very first team meeting, Ryan Church, the head of The Inn as well as one of the staff leaders on the trip, told us to reflect at some point while we're down there, to say "This is living."
Three plus years later, I can say that each and every day I spent in the Dominican Republic was an opportunity to live. The first year, I got to experience the trip in full. Everything was new, everything was fresh, and everything was exciting. I had no idea what was going to happen when I woke up every morning. Some days, I played baseball. Other days, I helped do some Spanish translation work. I interacted with the kids in my limited Spanish (thank goodness for Spanish in high school, amiright?) and got to play the sport I love in the beautiful city of Barahona, with the beautiful Dominican people that will always have a place in my heart. We sang and danced on the bus more times than I could count. At the end of the day, the team would relax in the pure aquamarine wonder that is the Caribbean Sea, with wave after wave pummeling us into the sand. We'd eat a delicious dinner of fried chicken, rice, and other things (but chicken was the constant), and we'd spend the rest of the night listening to a message, worshipping, and splitting up into our small groups where we got to know each other more. The first year allowed me to explore, create, and find out. It pushed me to make connections with people I didn't know- connections that now are some of my best friendships I've made in college, whether it be with the people I see in my business classes, the street, my littles in the Greek system, or the random people I've run into across campus. All the people I met, the joy of singing and dancing on the bus, and the baseball I played, to me, that was living.
The second year was the year that challenged me the most. I signed up almost immediately to be on the Break Missions team, the team that helps put together and leads the trip. I wanted to return so badly. It was a lot of meetings, a lot of planning, a lot of teamwork, and a lot of "I'm not really sure how the trip is gonna go, but I'm excited anyway!" days. To me, this trip was the hardest because I didn't want to compare it to the previous year. I've heard every year is different and changes, and that is so true. It's 55+ new people. It's different projects. It's a new small group and a new mindset altogether. But it's the same mission, and it's the same place. This year, I had to put a lot more preparation into the trip. Every morning, I had to wake up at 7am to attend leader meetings. I tried. Can't say I made it at 7am to very many. I got to lead a small group on the second year which was a ton of fun, hearing stories and discussing everything from movies, life, and how many kids were braiding our hair that day. I gave a small message in the morning about Joy. It was just different being on the other side of the trip. That said, I loved it. There's nothing I'd rather do with my Spring Break. The challenges were new and were exciting. The team was different and unique, but everyone brought excitement and loved the trip in the same ways I loved it when I first went. All the early morning sunrises, all the waterfalls, all the laughter and smiles and new people I met, all the work that the team put into it and saw come to fruition, that was living.
My final year was lived mostly through a lens. I don't mean that in a bad way at all. In some ways, my third year in the Dominican was the year I got to observe the most. I spent a lot of time taking pictures, and simply watching people interact. Interacting with the children, interacting with the local staff, interacting with the adults in the villages. And I loved it. I think I felt the trip this year the most, because I got to live somewhat vicariously through everyone else on the trip. Yes, I got to play some baseball, I got to play with some kids, I got to do some medical work, but for the most part I really, really valued watching everyone else. One of my best friends and close brothers in Christ finally went on the trip this year after another tripgoer and I begged him to come. My favorite part of this trip was talking with the local staff of Children of the Nations, the organization we work with. I gave it everything I had when communicating with them, and quite honestly, it felt so good just to put everything I had into use. Franklin, one of the COTN workers, was impressed with my Spanish even though it's been nearly 5 years since I've taken a formal language class. Most of the trip, I was taking pictures and capturing moments. This was something relatively new to me, but something I found myself getting more and more into. The team was different yet again, but I learned to appreciate every year for what it is, as opposed to comparing it to the other years. I think this helped my appreciation of all my trips to Barahona, not just this year's. All the Spanish I (attempted to) speak, all the children and baseball players who clearly remembered who I was, and all the memories and sentiments I reflected on that trip, that was living.
Some people have negative feelings about short-term missions. I think certain reasons are justified. Other reasons are a bit more iffy. In my opinion, this "mission trip" is not a short term one. It's been happening for over a decade, and will continue on for a lot longer. The people know who we are when we arrive. They look forward to seeing us just as much as I looked forward to seeing them. The longevity and continuity of the trip is just awesome to me, and is one of the reasons I am such a big fan of it.
To say I enjoyed my time in the Dominican Republic would be selling the DR way short. I thrived there. I loved the people. I treasured the baseball game. I'm not sure I can fit into words how much this trip meant to me every year I went. Every year, I come back and go to The Inn and see 50 new faces of people I met and people I know by name, people I've sweat with, and people I've laughed and shared memories with. To all the people on the trips who I went with who made endless memories, Thank you. To the staff of both the church and of COTN who put this trip together every year, Thank you. To the men and the women at Casa Betesda, Ponte Vedra, and every other place we stayed at, Thank you for the wonderful meals, the incredible hospitality, but most for the joy and smiles that radiated from you every time I saw you. To the children who may never read this but lit up my world with the smiles, 'besos', and shared moments on the diamond, Thank you. This trip truly has been one of- if not THE highlight of my college time. It was living.
